Chief national badminton coach Pullela Gopichand has welcomed the Badminton World Federation’s (BWF) decision to extend the Tokyo Olympics qualification period by around two months, to June 15, after the postponement of three tournaments due to COVID-19 related restrictions. The qualification period was earlier scheduled to end on April 25.

Dynamic situation

“This [COVID-19 problem] is a dynamic situation and we don’t know what tomorrow holds for the players. They need to be ready mentally and physically for any future turns of events. I don’t think that this [the current scenario] is a bad one though. I’m happy that sport has resumed,” Gopichand told mid-day on Friday.